Netflix updates Android app, removes check for unsupported devices

Netflix has updated its Android app for smartphones. The streaming giant has added support for three new devices, but even more importantly, it has removed the check that prevents users trying to playback content on unsupported devices. You can download the updated app from the Android Market.

Three new phones are now officially supported: the LG Revolution, the Motorola Droid, and the Casio G'zOne Commando C771. That brings the total number of supported devices eight; the original five are the HTC Incredible, the HTC Nexus One, the HTC Evo 4G, the HTC G2, and the Samsung Nexus S.

In addition, the company has fixed various minor bugs. For example, volume should be higher now, and the app will no longer fail on startup when the phone's embedded storage space is almost full.

Netflix released its Android app two weeks ago. It explained that because the Android platform has evolved so rapidly, there are significant challenges associated with developing a streaming video application for the ecosystem, such as no standard streaming playback features. The lack of standardization means Netflix has to test each individual handset. The company thus only supported phones that with requisite playback.

Hackers said to hell with this rule and quickly found a workaround. Netflix has done the right thing here by removing the check: the company has accepted that all it needs to do is warn users that their device isn't officially supported. It can't stop hackers anyway, so why bother trying? After all, it's a good thing that they want to use your app.